Count my many blessings

This is what we did for Activity Day Girls a couple weeks ago. You can make any type of album with paper sacks, I LOVE it! I'm making one for the baby shower I just did for a coworker too. People write down some advice to the new mom, places for pictures, and a list of the gifts (I'll take some pics before I give it to her). The possibilites are endless! So here is our version, as we recognized our blessings (well 10 of them) that our Heavenly Father has given us! The girls where told to bring 10 pictures of their favorite things. So either collect some old pictures or with help/suppervision take the pictures, but bring them developed, and then we'd be doing something "FUN" with them!

So here is the cover. Sacks cut and the bottom part is thrown out. It worked great with the fold of the bag doubled as the fold for the album (on the left). After putting 11 sacks together (10 pictures + 1 cover = 11 pages) I punshed two holes in the left side (my crop-a-dile it went through it like butter!) and tied it with ribbon. Made a cover with one of my 1,000+ fonts, colored it, and decorated the page.



On the left side they would fill in the blank with their blessing. Yeah I spelled marriage wrong, I know! I'm a BAD speller!

On the right side, paste their picture of their blessing and using decorative paper, punches, and decorative scissors (not too many embelishment choices for them, trying to keep it simple) they decorated around the picture.

Inside the pocket (or inside of the bag) was some card stock cut to fit where they are to journal about how their picture is a blessing in their life or how it has blessed their life. I then cut a small square and stapled it to the paper like a tab for decoration. Stapling the next paper in the middle, then bottom, then back at the top.

Garrick was one of my blessings. He's such a big helper and learning so much at school it's amazing! He's become such a good reader and he loves to read to me as I cook dinner!

Oh Aleksia! She brings drama to our house, in good ways and some bad! But she is a great big sister who loves having a little sister now to share a room with and wear matching dresses to church!

Trestin.... my little "helper." Helps with dishes, laundry, making messes while I clean, and taking care of his little sister while his other siblings are at school. How can such a small package have so much energy?


Cassiah has such a mellow personality! She loves to watch the craziness of her siblings and tolerates all their hugs, kisses, and them holding her very frequently! She only fusses when she's tired or hungery and either way I feed her and she's happy or she falls asleep.

Than is the love of my life, my helper, my sole mate, my sanitiy after a LONG day with the kids, and my best friend! He's a wonderful husband, father, man, and worker.

Ahh she found her thumb! She gags on the binki most of the time, but when she's really tired, she'll find her thumb, and suck herself to sleep! I wish she'd find it sooner sometimes and save herself the trouble!

Picture of Palouse Falls. I have really grown to love Pullman and the Palouse area! I love the spring when all the wheat fields are green, the rolling hills, and the friends we have met (some of which have moved on and we miss very much, you know who you are...).

I have the best job in the world (besides being a wife and mom)! I get to wear the most comfortable work clothes EVER, work with AMAZING people (from the nurses to doctors to CNA's), beautiful new facility to work in, help people feel better, be present for the arrival of new additions to families, and work at night. Nights actually is a blessing, in the fact that when I'm gone to work, Than is at home with our kids, so no day care, and they get good quality Daddy Time!

Tin Album

These are great for Baby Shower gifts (that's what this one was for), and I've done them (differently but the same idea) for Mothers Day gifts with pics of the grandkids for Grandmas. They are great 'cause you can through them in you're purse and they stay safe!

Supplies:
1 - tin (this one I got at WalMart. But you can get them for $1 at the checkout at Michael's, they are tins for gift cards!)

2 - 12" long and alittle less wide then your tin card stock (I used black)

decorative paper

embellishments

2" strip of sticky velcro

To make:
~fold the cardstock (black paper) into a square that is slightly smaller then you're tin. Because you want it to fit in the tin once it's all folded. Continue folding it accordion style until the end. The last piece will not be the same size, that's okay! Do this for both strips.

~If you want to do a decorative edging on the corners, do it now before you glue it together

~Clue the bottom of one strip (the end that is a little smaller then you're tin) to the top (the end that isn't the same size as the rest of the squares) together, to make one long strip like the below picture. So the smaller section that's not the same size as all the others is on top, and will be like you're title page.

~Cut your decorative paper 1/2" smaller then you're squares, and glue them on

~Prior to gluing on the top one, I printed out on the computer a phrase on velum, tore the top edges, inked them, and adhered it to the decorative paper with brads, then glued it onto the black cardstock. Or you can glue first, then put the brads through all 3 pieces of paper (velum, decorative, and cardstock) for more secure hold.

~Embellish, but leave room for the recipient to add pictures. It's easier when you are making one if you already have the pictures, because then you can embellish around them. But if it's a gift, that's not always possible.

~At the end, on the bottom square, I attach a piece of sticky velcro (one with the sticky stuff on the back, like a sticker) and put the opposite velcro in the tin sticky side down. So when you pull the album out to look at it, it will stay in place.

Questions, incase it's confusing (it's easy to make, but sometimes hard to explain) email me! nrsingmommy@gmail.com

Graduation Announcements

I finally found the SD card with these pictures to post.










I had a lot of fun making the announcements. I had so many things going on but I always enjoy doing something creative and in time for my finals. I was/am pleased with how thye turned out; I think they turned out really cute. Again, I was ispired by Paper Pals!

2 cards and a memory book!

I made these for a competition and didn't make it so I thought I'd share them anyway!!

On a Craftin Spree

Okay, so I don't post FOREVER and now I post a craft everyday. I go is spurts. With Mother's Day coming up I have been trying to figure out projects the kids could do for grandmothers. I found this frame at Wal-Mart. The kids had a blast with it. Kayden kept digging his fingers down into the clay so we would have to re-roll it. Which is nice, if you mess up you just roll over it again. It is the softest clay I've ever used, which was nice for delicate little fingers. After we did the hand prints we stuck it in the oven on 275 for 15 minutes, let it cool and put in the cute little picture of the kids. It was fun, fast, and easy!

Finally Creative

I just have to say that I LOVE Paper Pals. I found this cute idea in the store. Karen took time to teach me how they were made and Kaycee and I went to town. It was so easy and so much fun. She was so excited to be able make her teachers gifts.

Everytime I go into Paper Pals I am greeted by smiels from both Shawna nad Karen. they don't forget a face. I only wish I had the time, money, and free hands to spend more time in the store. It is so much fun and inspiring. I love the colors, atmosphere, and inspiring environemnt of their store. If you haven't been there you need to go. They have so many great ideas. They have fun classes and even great ideas online.

More V-day crafts

Here are some more fun Valentines Crafts. For my Activity Day Girls this week we made these and the "You color my world" crayons from an earlier post. They must have enjoyed it, because the mom's had to drag them away after our time was up. Then the kids ended up making some for their friends too!

I LOVE Plaster of Paris. I bought some heart shaped candy molds this year, and put the hook in the back again, and made necklaces. I also made some smaller hearts (another mold) that are about 1" across and made "conversation hearts" out of those, and then glued a pin to the back to wear on your shirt.

This was a way cute idea I found on http://jas.familyfun.go.com/crafts?page=CraftDisplay&craftid=12116 . I love Family Fun on the web and their magazine! I even made some for a couple coworkers and Than's office mates! So obviously fun for adults too!

Monkey Bread

So this technically isn't a "craft," but the kids do LOVE making it, so I thought I'd share! It's called Monkey Bread, because the little monkey's help to make it. It's very tasty and a great FHE treat!

The recipe calls for 3 cans of the ballard biscuits. Open 1 1/2 cans and cut them into quarters.

Have the little monkeys roll the quarters in a mixture of:

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

3 tsp cinnamon

In a greased bunt pan, place the first 1 1/2 cans of rolled and coated biscuits in the bottom of the pan.

Shred one apple and place on top of the 1 1/2 cans. You can add nuts or raisins too if you like (but we don't like!)

Then cut, roll, coat, and place the remaining biscuits on top of the apples.

Melt 3/4 cup of butter (very healthy!!!) into the remaining sugars & cinnamon mixture. Pour over the top of it all, and bake for 20-30 minutes at 350 degrees.

Let cool 10-15 minutes, then invert on a plate. We like to eat it with toothpicks. Enjoy!

Valentines for kids

So I have been having withdrawls from my lack of doing anything crafty lately. Between the packing, moving, unpacking, working, kids, house stuff, and being 7 months pregnant life is alittle nuts. So this week I told the boxes that I was taking a break, and needed a "Crafty Afternoon." So after Trestin layed down for a nap, we worked on the kids' Valentines. Garrick had gotten his class list for his V-day party on the 13th, so we got a head start. And of course Aleksia wants to send some too, so here is what we came up with;

Garrick wrote on his foam tags, taped a candy to it, and then punched hole in it and attached a pencil. Here is two of them for his "best friends," Meghan and Sam!

Aleksia making her's for Grandmas & Grandpas, friends, and a couple cousins. She can write "ALE" then we have to finish the "ksia."

Here is another idea (from Family Fun Magazine, so I can't take credit for it) that we made. I finally found a heart mold, so I was able to make these this year. We are going to make them as one of our Valentine Crafts for my "Activity Day Girls" activity next week (I'm in charge of bi-monthly activity for the 8-11 year old girls at church). Here is what we did;

After removing the wrapper, the kids broke each crayon into four pieces, the had fun "mixing them up" after each crayon they put in.


I was finally able to find a mold, at Michael's. The kids put about six crayon pieces in each heart. These I did to kinda coordinate colors. The kids' where all sorts of colors, and turned out cute too.

The "recipe" said to bake them at 250 degrees for 10-15 minutes. Well I bought the cheep crayons, and they took a lot longer. So I ended up having to bake ours at 350 degrees for 15 minutes (basically cook it till they melt). When I took them out, it looked black. But after they cooled, the back still looked like a brownish/black, but the fronts looked cute! Then we glued them to a circle we cut out using a cup as a template, and wrote on the front "You color my World" and on the back "To & From." then taped the heart on. Then the crayon can be removed easily and used. Enjoy!